This came from about.com's cooking light recipe section. I just tried these a couple of days ago and they are really GREAT. They're not really low in sugar, but they're low in fat and low cholesterol, for those watching those items in their diet but still craving a chocolate chip cookie: Light Chocolate Chip Cookies Chocolate chip cookies will never be declared a health food, but you can make them less unhealthy by tweaking the ingredients a little. Here's a recipe for a lighter chocolate chip cookie that still manages to satisfy a sweet tooth, but perhaps with a little less guilt. INGREDIENTS: · 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour · 3/4 cup all-purpose flour · 1/4 tsp baking soda · 1/4 tsp salt · 4 tbsp butter, melted (I used margarine) · 2 egg whites (I used 1/4 c. egg beaters) · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 3/4 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar · 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, butter, and vanilla; stir in the brown sugar until smooth. Gradually add in the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes. Yields 24 cookies. Per Cookie : Calories 92, Calories from Fat 30, Total Fat 3.4g, (sat 2.6g), Cholesterol 6mg, Sodium 45mg, Carbohydrate 14.5g, Fiber 0.7g, Protein 1.2g

lizbeth-gardener- --Perfectly softened butter should still look solid, but "give" a little when you press it lightly with your finger and leave a slight indent, but shouldn't be soft in feel or appearance. You don't want partially-melted butter. Using butter that is too soft can cause cookie spread. --Instead of the touch test for butter, try taking the temperature (place the thermometer into the stick from the narrow end into the center of the length of the stick) . Optimal temperature for fat/butter is 65-67-degrees F when you measure it with an instant-read thermometer. Since butter warms quickly when it's beat, starting at this cooler temperature prevents it from getting too soft during mixing. --Cold-from-the-refrigerator butter will be soft in 30-40-minutes at room temperature. You can speed that up by grating the butter on a large hole box grater, and grating it is a better method than in the microwave. --Don't use butter that has been sitting out on the counter for hours/days because it will probably be too soft (aka "slack" butter) due to ambient kitchen temperatures. --Thoroughly chilled dough will help assure the fat is solid once again - although if the dough got overly-warm at any point, the texture can change because the moisture and the fat in butter can separate. There are all kinds of tests for the "perfect" amount of refrigerator time, but there are too many variables from recipe-to-recipe to make that determination without testing each one. I have recipes that work best mixed and baked immediately (especially low-fat, or if liquid fat is used in the recipe), others need to be chilled at least an hour or 12-hours works well. If I freeze the dough balls, I prefer thawing them in the refrigerator overnight rather than baking them frozen, although, that's just one more option. --If you have a large amount of cookie dough to bake, be sure to keep it in the refrigerator while waiting for use. The heat in the kitchen can cause the fat to melt and the dough to go "slack", especially towards the end of the batch. --Don't continue to stir the cookie dough between handling for portioning because mixing it will over-develop the gluten and you'll get tough cookies. Pilllog mentioned not aerating the dough..... It's not so much about aerating as it is about over-mixing and over-developing the gluten once the flour has been added, which will cause the cookies to be tough. Once the fat/sugar have been properly mixed, don't over-mix the dough once the eggs have been added or the fat/liquid can "break". --Avoid placing cookie dough on a hot/warm pan. Have at least 3-4 cookies sheets to use so you always have one that is completely cool before loading the dough on it. Even warm pans will begin melting the fat in the dough. --Other causes for cookie spread: too much sugar (be sure to measure carefully), large-grained sugar (fine-grained is a better choice), too much baking soda - which makes the pH too high, too much grease or fat residue on the pan (wipe off between batches - better yet, cover them with parchment paper), incorrect temperature or cold oven temperature (be sure to preheat and check your oven for actual temperature using an oven thermometer). --Another important, and often missed, point.... When mixing the fat and sugar, be sure to take your time. If you rush through this step you can cause cookie spread because the two ingredients haven't been properly incorporated and the sugar crystals will remain too large. Other points to consider: -Size of the cookies you make. -Use a portion scoop so you get like-sized cookies which bake in the same amount of time. -Use a timer, and remember, the first pan normally takes a little longer then the subsequent pans. -In a standard oven, only bake one pan of cookies at a time and turn the pan half-way through baking. If you have a convection oven, reduce the temperature by 25-degrees F, and half-way through turn the pans and move the pans top to bottom. On a personal note, I've used nothing but insulated baking sheets for over 30-years, however I don't bake directly on the pans, I always top them with parchment paper. Adding parchment paper will give slightly different results on ALL pan types, as would adding a silicon sheet. When judging cookies at Fairs I can usually tell which kind of pan was used by the bottom of the cookies. Each pan type will give different results and there are different hints and tips for baking on each of them successfully. -Grainlady

I think I'll call them Annie's Crack Cookies from now on. LOL You guys should've been here as Erin was writing her reply above. Numerous attempts and misspellings made her grumpy and she'd yell at me about how to spell something. My favorite part - "And I sat down in the chair and stretched for a few minutes and I watched TV for another few minutes and I stretched again and I watched TV again so anyways my mom and I just wanted to tell you how delicious the cookies were." Apparently stretching & watching TV are an integral part of eating good cookies in my household. At least for a 9-year-old girl they are, LOL!

Hi Linda, I posted these bars on the Recipe Forum earlier. Los Angeles Times: These delicious little bars combine a dense graham cracker base with a velvety custard filling rich with brown sugar and chopped pecans. Sweet, but not overly so, each bar is like a perfect miniature pecan pie baked over a wonderfully crumbly graham cracker crust. Graham cracker chewy bars Total time: 45 minutes, plus cooling time Servings: 24 bars Note: Adapted from "Celebrating With Julienne" by Susan Campoy. Campoy writes, "I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite books, 'Nantucket Open-House Cookbook,' by Sarah Leah Chase. I love watching people's expressions when they bite into these bars for the first time. The textures and flavors -- rich toffee, a chewy center and a crunchy bottom -- make everyone smile. The secret is not to over-bake the crust. Serve them at room temperature, so the flavors meld together." Crust 3 cups graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and flour until moist and well-blended. Press the mixture firmly and evenly over the bottom of a 13-inch by 9-inch baking pan. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Topping and assembly 2 1/2 cups brown sugar 4 extra-large eggs 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup pecans, chopped 1 prepared crust Powdered sugar, if desired 1. While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs to blend. Whisk in the graham cracker crumbs, vanilla, salt and baking powder until well-blended. Stir in the pecans. 2. Spread the mixture over the baked crust and return to the 350-degree oven until the filling is dark-golden on top and jiggles slightly when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool completely. 3. Sprinkle a light coating of sifted powdered sugar over the pan if desired, and cut into 24 bars. The bars can be made 1 day in advance. Wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature.